Door-hanger.



1. E. ANGER.

DOOR HANGER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT- II, 1914.

' 1 ,1 90,078. Y Patented July 4, 1916.

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I. E. ANGER.

DOOR HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I I, 1914.

1,190,078. Patented July 4,1916.

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JOHN EDWARD ANGER, OF PRESTON, ENGLAND.

DOOR-HANGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

Application filed. September 11, 1914. Serial No. 861,293.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN EDWARD ANGER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Preston, in the county of Lancaster, in the Kingdom of England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in hanger devices for sliding doors, such as are used for tramcars, freight cars and other purposes. The type of door referred to, is one in which the door is opened by sliding sidewise instead of swinging on hinges.

The object of the invention is to produce a hanger which will reduce friction, prevent derailment, and enable the door to run with greater smoothness.

Now according to the present invention, I provide an antifriction hanger device adapted to roll between upper and lower rails, the lower rail carrying the weight of the sliding door, while the upper one keeps the hanger device in position and prevents it becoming derailed. The said device is characterized in that endless traveling chains of rollers are passed around or mounted on guides in the hanger brackets said guides being interposed between the opposing rails of a track in such manner that the rollers bear against the said rails and roll thereon, when the door is opened or closed, the inclividual rollers rotating in their own axes, and also traveling around the guides.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a front elevation of the hanger device for sliding doors, Fig. 2 an end view partly in section, and Fig. 3 a sectional plan view of my hanger bracket and guide, Fig. at is a front view of the hanger bracket showing a slight modification, Fig. 5 is a front view of the hanger bracket showing a slight modification, Fig. 6 is a side view thereof with the track in section, Fig. 7 a plan view of the bracket with chain removed, and Fig. 8 is a front view of the hanger device on a smaller scale, showing means for holding the door in the open or closed positions.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the antifriction hanger embodies a number of spaced rollers A coupled together by links B, so as to form an endless traveling chain of rollers. This anti-friction hanger chain passes around a guide or sheave C in the hanger bracket D that is secured to the door,

such guide being oblong in shape with rounded ends and sides at top and bottom parallel, so as to form a carrier for the hanger chain. One run of the chain when in position on the guide, rests on the lower rail of the track E, and the return run rests against or is adjacent to the upper rail F of the track, the two runs being spaced apart by the guide C. This chain of rollers A forms an anti-friction roller bearing runner, the individual rollers of the system rotating on their own axes when the door is opened and closed, and also traveling around the axes of the guide G. The links B that couple the rollers A together, run in grooves Gr in the rails E F, which grooves act as guides to prevent lateral movement of the chain of rollers A. Thus derailment, jamming or sticking is absolutely prevented. For ordinary sliding doors, two hanger brackets D are used, each provided with a spaced guide C with an anti'friction hanger chain A mounted thereon. The guide or sheave C in the hanger bracket D is made in two parts, one of which is a fixture on the bracket, while the other one marked 0 is adjustable toward or away from the fixed one, so as to take up any slack in the chain A. This can be eifected by elongating the hole I-I through which a bolt or set screw I is passed, to fasten the adjustable part c of the guide C to the bracket D. By slackening the set screw I, the guide ,can be adjusted to take up any slack there may be in the chain A, and again locked by screwing up the set screw. The rollers A themselves are by preference plain rollers, and the tracks E F and guide C are of corresponding shape. The upper and lower rails E F may be separate and spaced evenly apart throughout their length, or they may be formed of a pair of flanges projecting laterally from the upper and lower edge of a fixed Web as shown.

Itis to be understood that I do not consider myself limited to the precise details of construction herein set forth, as changes could be suggested whichwhile they might change the appearance of the device, would not involve a departure from the scope of the invention. Accordingly a guide or sheave of circular shape as shown in Fig. 4, marked J might be applied to each hanger bracket D around which a chain of rollers A travels, and bears against the lower rail E, while the upper rail F keeps the hanger device in position. Furthermore the guide or sheave C may be pivoted to the bracket D by means of the pivot pin K as shown in Figs. 57, the main object of this being to allow the hanger chain to remain seated on the lower rail E even though the door itself betilted a little by the hand when opened or closed, thus preventing any sticking or jannning. Furthermore in these figures and in I i 8, the side of each bracket D at the top has a pair of vertical ribs L between whiehis a concave depression adapted to receive the downwardly extending tongue of a member M which is secured to the top rail of the doorway, said tongue having a certain amount of lateral springiness so as to form a check spring. In the closed position of the door, the downwardly extending tongue engages the depression in one of the brackets, and prevents the door opening, through vibration caused by the motion of the vehicle, while not offering sufiicient obstruction to the door being opened by hand. lVhen so opened the depression in one bracket having disengaged itself from the check spring, the said spring snaps into the depression in the other bracket, thus holding the door in the open position. N are arched rubber bumpers against which the door abuts at top and also at bottom when opened or closed, thus reducing noise and shock. There. are a pair of these bumpers N against which the door impacts when open and another pair against which the door impacts when closed. In these figures, the links B of the hanger chain run not in grooves, but overlap the rails E F at opposite sides, so as to prevent lateral movement of the hanger chain.

I declare that what I claim is 1. A hanger device for sliding doors comprising in combination upper and lower track rails, hanger brackets each having a guide or sheave in connection there with interposed between the opposing rails, a series of spaced rollers whose peripheries are mounted on each guide or sheave and connected by a flexible chain, the links of which are coupled together by engaging axial pins on the rollers.

2. A hanger device for sliding doors,com prising in combination upper and lower track rails, hanger brackets each having a guide or sheave in connection therewith, an antifriction hanger device consisting of spaced rollers coupled together by links so as to form an endless traveling chain of rollers mounted on each guide sheave, and grooves on opposite. sides of the track rails in which the links of the chain run to prevent lateral displacement of the chain of rollers.

A hanger device for sliding doors,comprising in combination upper and lower track rails, hanger brackets each having a guide or sheave in connection therewith, an antiiriction hanger device consisting of spaced rollers the same width as the track rails, and coupling links for the rollers adapted to overlap the rails at opposite sides so as to prevent lateral displacement of the chain of rollers.

at. A hanger device for sliding doors, com prising in combination upper and lower track rails, hanger brackets each having a guide or sheave in connection therewith, said guides or sheaves being pivoted to the brackets so as to provide for a little rocking movement, and an endless traveling chainof rollers mounted on each guide or sheave and interposed between the opposing rails.

5. A hanger device for sliding doors,com-

prising in combination upper and lower track rails, hanger brackets each having in.

connection therewith a guide or sheave, an endless t aveling chain of rollers mounted on each guide or sheave which is interposed between the track rails, a pair of vertical ribs on the face oi each bracket with a depression between, and a downwardly extending leaf spring secured to the top rail of the doorway, the lower end of which is adapted to enter the depression in one bracket when the door is open, and the de pression in the other bracket when the door is closed.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 31st day of August 191a, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN EDIVARD ANGER. Witnesses G. C. DYMonD, I. S. SHILLINGTON.

Copies 01 this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of fatents Washington, I). 0. 

